Post by Sparrow Akiyama on Jun 11, 2010 1:53:20 GMT -5
Esperanza Velásquez
Full Name: Esperanza Gabriela Velásquez de la Carrera
Age: 22
Civilian or Special: Special
Currently Located: San Diego, California, USA
Affiliated with: Hero
Celebrity Claim: Ferrera, America
Relation to You: Best friend
Personality: Esperanza is a sweet and caring sort of person. She grows attached to others easily, ad is always willing to help anyone in need. Although others often take advantage of her kindness, Esperanza continues to offer them her assistance, even at her own expense. She believes that everyone is at least a little bit good, and that is enough for her. She is forgiving and understanding, and always has something encouraging to say.
Unfortunately, Esperanza is a little too easygoing at times, to the point that she becomes a “doormat.” It does bother her when she knows she is being used, but she never does anything to correct the situation, either because she does not want to offend or alienate the person that is using her, or because she is just too timid. As a result, she often finds herself in strange and uncomfortable predicaments, and usually has to turn to her family or friends to get her out of them.
Appearance: Esperanza is of average height and slightly more than average weight, though she is less fat than voluptuous. She hates her large bosom and wide hips, and often hides them under loose or bulky clothing. Her feet are fairly big- she wears size nine shoes- and her hands are medium-sized. Her ears are small and usually hidden beneath her hair.
Her face is long and oval-shaped, usually framed by her tousled brown hair. She has brown eyes, which she considers very plain. Her features are not overly large or dominant, and fit her face well.
She prefers to dress in comfortable clothes, which are large T-shirts and pants. Occasionally, usually at the request of her family or friends, she dresses up in blouses and jeans, or, for very special occasions, dresses. Her everyday clothes are dark colors, but when she selects blouses and dresses, they are almost invariably pastel-colored.
Ability: Hypnokinesis is the ability to manipulate the sleep patterns of a living subject. By concentrating on a subject, Esperanza can cause it to fall asleep, to awaken, or to be unable to fall asleep or awaken. Additionally, Esperanza can determine how long the subject remains asleep or awake- which could be anywhere between a few seconds and an infinite amount of time. Frequent use of her ability on the same subject can cause chronic insomnia or hypersomnia in it. She can use this ability both on others or on herself.
Limits: Despite what the name of the ability might suggest, Esperanza cannot hypnotize anyone. She cannot force subjects to obey her instructions while they are in a sleep that was induced by her ability. Her ability cannot cause sleep-related activities such as sleepwalking, sleep talking, and night terrors. She also cannot alter or see the subject’s dreams.
History: Esperanza was born in California to a Honduran mother and a Mexican father. Both of her parents had recently immigrated to the United States from their homelands. They were unmarried at the time, but were wed later, so as to make things easier for Esperanza as she grew up. However, they remained somewhat distant, as both of them worked very long hours each day throughout Esperanza’s childhood. As a result, Esperanza was raised in daycares rather than at home.
Esperanza earned decent grades in school, where she was very much a social “wallflower.” She had friends, but many of them simply used her for homework help and relationship advice. Additionally, she suffered from low self-esteem, as she knew she did not fit the typical “pretty girl” criteria. She refused to attend her schools’ dances and proms, and always turned down date requests.
During her junior year of high school, Esperanza got a job as a teacher’s assistant at a daycare center, where she discovered a love for teaching. After graduating from high school, she enrolled at the University of California at Berkeley, and began working toward a degree in history, hoping to attend Berkeley’s School of Education as a graduate. During her first half of her college years, she kept to herself, doing only as much socializing as was necessary to get through her courses.
Then, early in her freshman year, her parents officially separated. To make matters worse, she started having trouble sleeping, a problem which gradually grew from insomnia to a complete lack of sleep. As a sophomore, she went a week without sleeping at all, then suddenly fell asleep and did not awaken for an entire day. That prompted her family to step in. After spending an afternoon visiting the family, one of her mother’s coworkers and close friends, a special with the ability to detect abilities, took Esperanza aside and told her that she had developed a superhuman power. Esperanza did not take the news well, not even after learning that several of her relatives, including both of her parents, were specials as well. However, after accidentally causing an entire class full of students to fall asleep during a lecture, Esperanza finally came to terms with her ability, and began to study it, hoping to control it better.
The next year, Esperanza and Sparrow were assigned to the same dorm. As her roommate, Sparrow quickly picked up on Esperanza’s odd sleeping habits, and suggested that Esperanza see a doctor, but Esperanza refused, and explained her ability to Sparrow. Esperanza continued to struggle with her ability until her mother suggested that she go see a group of specialists about it. That group of specialists was the Company, which Esperanza’s mother had heard was an organization that was meant to help specials. Through some fairly shady connections, Esperanza’s mother was able to arrange an appointment in Vegas, where Esperanza spent five days being taught to control her hypnokinesis. She was unknowingly “tagged” during the process, but she did return to California with a much better understanding of her ability.
Esperanza and Sparrow became close friends, and graduated from college together. Esperanza was accepted to Berkeley’s School of Education and was hired as a teacher’s assistant for the upcoming school year. In the meantime, she is spending the summer with Sparrow, who travels often. She expects to see more of the country, if not the world, while hanging out with Sparrow, and is excited about the arrangement.
